Investing…..trick or treat?

By Moneyspider.com

As you send your children trick-or-treating this Halloween in their newly purchased ghoulish costumes, you’ll probably provide them with some words of caution. You’ll warn them against entering strangers’ homes or straying too far from your sight. Older kids will want to venture out with friends, and you’ll have to decide if they’re ready to wander the neighbourhood outside your watchful eye.

Minimising the "tricks" while maximising the "treats"

Financial investing can feel the same way. Your savings are something you cultivate and nurture, just like your children. It can be hard to decide just how much security you’re willing to sacrifice for potential growth and gains. Fortunately, there are tools and strategies you can use to minimise your risk when dealing with high-return (and high-risk) investments, here are just couple of the tricks to help maximise your investments.

Educate yourself. The investment world can initially appear daunting as it has many different avenues that range from Open-ended Investment Companies (OEICs) and unit trusts to stocks and bonds. However, the first port of call when deciding to invest is to educate yourself on the various options available. The more you know, the better your chances of becoming a savvy investor. 

Diversify your portfolio. Diversification is one of the strategies that can be used to maximize your investment potential. Basically, it follows the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket. With diversification, you spread your money across different kinds of investments: stocks, bonds, real estate, money markets, etc. And within each category, you can diversify even more. For example, stocks can come from both small and large, domestic and international and low-risk and high-risk categories. 

While this is sound advice it can be difficult to manage investments when they are registered with several different fund managers. However, don’t get spun out about this notion as this is where Moneyspider.com can help you.

Moneyspider.com is an independent online fund valuation, performance monitoring and rating service for private investors, which allows you to monitor all your different Unit Trusts or OEICs (Open Ended Investment Companies) including all stocks and shares ISAs in one place. Moneyspider.com provides a web of knowledge by monitoring over 2,300 funds available to UK investors helping you make your own informed decisions on how your funds are performing, compared against other funds in the same or different sectors.

To help you monitor your funds, Moneyspider.com provides personalised reports, updated daily and available online 24/7, with not only your funds current performance but also our unique Moneyspider Rating®, allowing you to see how they compare against other funds within the same and other sectors.

It’s FREE to register and you won’t get stung with any upfront payments as Moneyspider.com receives its commission directly from the fund manager, at no extra cost to you. Moneyspider.com are also able to arrange the buying or switching of your investments at a 50% discount compared to dealing direct with a fund manager 

So don’t miss a trick this Halloween, visit Moneyspider.com to find out how you can save ££££’s and treat yourself. 

What makes Moneyspider.com unique?

By Moneyspider.com

Have you made investments, yet have little knowledge of how they are now performing? Or does the relationship with your IFA seem to be just one way, with little proactive advice? Perhaps with all the current talk of RDR you are wondering what kind of service you will be getting in 2013? Maybe it’s time to consider monitoring your own funds and cutting out the middle man?

This is where Moneyspider can help. Moneyspider allows you to take control of your investments and provides you with up to date information, not just on how your fund is performing but how it is performing against other funds in the market. It will also tell you the top 10 performing funds in all sectors in case you are thinking of making a new investment.  While the historical performance of funds is extremely useful, it is not an absolute indication of future success but then nobody has a crystal ball. 

What Moneyspider does is enable you to have access to this performance information on a 24/7 basis. And it does more, something that is unique to Moneyspider.

By commissioning our own algorithm, we have devised a unique rating system which assesses the performance of each fund measured against four parameters. 

The first parameter is:

FTSE 100
This is a comparison of the total return of the fund with the total return of the FTSE 100 index. 

The second parameter is:

Funds ranking
This is a comparison with over 2,300 other funds available to UK investors. 

The third parameter is:

Sector ranking
This is a comparison with all other funds in the same sector as your fund, these are based on the sector definitions used by the Investment Management Association, otherwise known as the IMA. 

And finally

Cash
This is a comparison of the fund's performance with the return from an equivalent amount deposited in a 90 day access account.

Moneyspider's algorithm calculates the results with weightings allocated to each of the four categories, each one analysed and compared over 1, 3 and 5 years. Although the algorithm appears complex, it produces a straightforward result; scoring each investment fund from A (a very high rating) to E (a distinctly poor rating).

Behind these easy-to-understand fund ratings is a percentage score, each day for every one of the 2,300 or so funds on our database, providing a comprehensive ranking for all investment funds.

And as well as doing this for all funds, once you become a Moneyspider active member it will also produce a tailored report for all of your existing funds.  Giving you the comparative information that will help you to decide where to invest new monies or whether you consider switching your existing funds in to something new.

To see just how you can benefit from using Moneyspider, just register online and start using Moneyspider.com today!

Ten top tips for women investors

By Moneyspider.com

We all know that men and women think differently, like different things and even react differently to the same event, so it’s not a big surprise to find that they take a different approach when it comes to investing. While men are way ahead in many respects, investing more and building more diverse portfolios, they have a tendency to take more risks which can result in bigger losses.

Woman on the other hand have an aversion to risk which many argue is due to the fundamental roles they play in society. Women have a family nurturing role: protecting the next generation is crucial to the survival of the species, so it would be understandable for women to be more risk-averse. Clearly, women could take some cues from men when it comes to investing, however, sometimes having less appetite for risk can be a blessing.

Investing your money is important. It can give you financial security and independence, as well as prepare you for important life events such as your children's education, your retirement or unforeseen financial emergencies. Although this may sound overwhelming at first, there are a few basic investment guidelines that you can use to enrich your future: 

1. Educate yourself. The investment world can initially appear daunting as it has many different avenues that range from Open-ended Investment Companies (OEICs) and unit trusts to stocks and bonds. However, the first port of call when deciding to invest is to educate yourself on the various options available. The more you know, the better your chances of becoming a savvy investor. 

2. Set clear financial goals. Decide what you need to do to make your future secure and enjoyable. This can include everything from starting a retirement fund to starting to put aside funds for college, medical expenses, vacations, real estate investments, as well as an emergency fund for any unforeseen events that may drain your savings. 

3. Create an investment plan. Once you have set your goals, you need to create a solid investment plan. First, determine how much money you have to invest, and start thinking about how to make your money work for you to achieve your financial goals. Rather than a set of rules, an investment plan provides guidelines that can help you organise and direct your energies. Financial plans should have continuity and a solid foundation, but at the same time be adaptable to changes that invariably happen in life. 

4. Seek professional advice. Consulting with an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) can give you an edge in creating your investment portfolio. However, IFA’s can sometimes be fallible, which means you should always take an active role in your investments. Moneyspider.com not only allows you to monitor your own funds but allows you to buy stocks and shares ISAs, Unit Trusts and OEICs and switch underperforming funds 50% cheaper than dealing direct with a fund manager.

5. Diversify your portfolio. When setting up an investment portfolio, you should make sure to diversify your investments; that is, make sure the risk is spread out and not all focused in one place. By diversifying your financial portfolio, you create more security for yourself. 

6. Set up an emergency fund. You should safeguard your finances by setting up an emergency fund to deal with potential problems that could drain your finances (such as unforeseen medical or legal problems). 

7. Retain Pre-Retirement Income Most women will need to retain up to 85% of their pre-retirement income to remain comfortable through retirement. In order to do that, a growth and income strategy should be applied to a broad diversified investing plan over time. The earlier that growth and income strategy is developed, the more likely it is to generate healthy yields in the future. 

8. Avoid high-risk investments. High-risk investments are like gambling on long shots. On the whole, you have to be prepared to lose your money. Even in the world of stocks and futures, some investments are much riskier than others. 

9. Monitor investments on a regular basis. You are ultimately in charge of your finances, and because it's your money that is being invested, you are the one who stands to profit or lose. Always stay informed about what is going on in the different financial markets that hold your investments. One way you can monitor your own funds is by using Moneyspider.com. Moneyspider.com is an independent online fund valuation, performance monitoring and rating service for private investors, which allows you to monitor all your different Unit Trusts or OEICs (Open Ended Investment Companies) including all stocks and shares ISAs in one place.

10. Be open to new ideas. You should be adaptable and change your portfolio to reflect what is happening both in your life and in the world around you. Be aware of both financial and cultural trends. Keep up-to-date by reading business and financial journals, newsletters, magazines and websites. 

Have you considered using a fund platform? - it could save you time and money

By Moneyspider.com

A fund platform, often referred to as a fund supermarket, is a company that provides a facility for buying and selling a wide range of investment funds from different fund management companies on the same platform, often at favourable terms. Some of the best known platforms are Fidelity Funds Network, Cofunds, Skandia and Standard Life's FundZone.

July 2012 saw funds under management of the five biggest platforms which provide data to the Investment Management Association (IMA) of £122 billion, compared with £114 billion a year ago.

Investors who wish to purchase and or switch funds using a fund platform, through Moneyspider, will benefit from the expedience and convenience of online same-day transactions as well as low cost online switching charges. 

You can also simply re-register your existing investments to take advantage of these benefits. 

To find out if you are able to re-register your funds and to get more information, call us on 01784 264 220.

Corporate bonds... is it time to bail??

Moneyspider.com

Investors are being warned off Britain’s biggest and most successful corporate bond funds amid concerns that that liquidity in the sector could dry up, causing performance to dip and tying investors into poorly performing funds.

They've been the biggest-selling funds for six of the past nine months and their popularity with ordinary investors seems to know no bounds. Yet corporate bond funds – typically sought after by risk-averse long-term savers wary of rollicking stock markets – should be avoided, major fund managers have warned.

Leading fund managers such as M&G, Invesco Perpetual and Ignis say fear of inflation is to blame. If, as expected, central banks around the world print money to try to kick-start economic growth, it will cause a drop in bond prices. This is because, as inflation rises, interest rates usually climb to control it, making bonds less attractive to investors. 

The investment picture is still constantly changing, as we are in a period of extended volatility, which gives all the more reason to have a balanced portfolio with a mix of funds in gilts/equities and bonds, but taking particular note of Moneyspider.com’s reports and ratings.

Total return – your attitude to risk and reward

As a private investor your main enemies are the risk of capital loss through market volatility and the erosion of your capital as a result of inflation.

Your investment reward, which should be commensurate with the risk, is the 'total return'. Think of this as the percentage increase on your original investment. It is derived in two different ways. Firstly, from investment income (dividends and interest) and secondly from capital growth (a rise in the price of the underlying shares in the funds you own).

You may help to manage your equity risk by investing in a range of funds not only in differentsectors (e.g. technology, energy etc) but also in different parts of the world (e.g. Asia, South America etc).

Moneyspider.com is an online service that not only allows you to monitor and rate your stocks and shares ISAs, Unit Trusts and OEIC investments, on a daily basis, 24/7, it also allows you to compare your funds with every one of the best performing funds in its sector and all other sectors, using our unique rating system.

Do check the Moneyspider’s top A rated funds, so you can see which funds in which sectors and which parts of the world have performed best.

Picking the right fund isn't easy..

Picking the right fund is a difficult task even for the most experienced investor. More than 2,500 funds are registered in the UK alone.

And it’s not just a question of choosing a suitable fund in the 'right' sector. Every fund manager has his or her own style of investing. Some are consistently much more successful than others which shows up in the long-term performance. Diversification is important but picking the right funds and monitoring the performance closely is absolutely crucial.

And this is where Moneyspider.com comes in!

Moneyspider allows you to monitor your funds in one place, online 24/7, receive a personalised report with our unique Moneyspider Rating® online and is the best way to keep track of your ISAs, Unit Trust and OEICs.

Armed with this vital information, Moneyspider provides an execution only buy and switch service, with discounted initial commission charges, making changing your funds quicker, easier and crucially, cheaper than dealing direct with a fund manager.

Global Emerging Markets funds deliver stellar returns but only if you pick the right fund.

Moneyspider.com latest data reveals three quarters of all emerging market funds under-performed in last three years – but First State and Aberdeen power ahead

A two horse race as the front runners easily leave the nags behind

• First State turns £5,000 into £8,700 in three years
• Aberdeen not far behind as A rated funds continue to reward investors – but watch where you put your money, warns Moneyspider.com – or you could lose your shirt
• Territory based research teams the key to top returns in high risk sector

Investors who have held their nerve and stayed in emerging markets funds despite the ups and downs of global stock markets have been well rewarded, according to new data from online investment research analysts Moneyspider.com.

But only if they have selected the right funds. Because while there are a handful of stellar performers within this higher risk sector, the majority of funds – more than three quarters – are relegated to Moneyspider.com's C/E ratings (please see editor's notes for full explanation on how Moneyspider.com's ratings system works).

Investors who have been fortunate to opt for top-flight fund managers such as First State Investments have seen their choices pay off handsomely.

First State's Global Emerging Markets Fund for example returned £8,715 on a £5,000 investment over three years in the period May 2009 to May 2012. And Aberdeen's popular Emerging Markets Fund was not far behind with £8,027 over the same period.

Both funds are A rated, but while the top performers in the sector are dominated by the likes of First State and Aberdeen, there are far more lame duck funds in this sector than alpha performers.

Of the 41 funds which Moneyspider.com monitors within the sector, the vast majority, 73.2%, are in the average to below average C- E range of the moneyspider.com rankings system – most investors in these funds may not have lost money, but they will have lost out on the rewards fielded by the top performers.

Just 26.8 per cent carried the Moneyspider.com A/B ratings – so investors need to choose their fund wisely, paying particular attention to relatively short term performance, said Tony Ahearne, Moneyspider.com director.

"Emerging markets funds are currently providing some of the most attractive returns of all the equity investment fund sectors, but performance between the best and the worst of the managers in this sector fluctuates wildly.

"As market conditions vary so intently in many of the developing countries, investors need to be aware of the fund manager's ability to spot the potential for short term profits and then pulling out and moving on," he said.

Emerging markets now account for about a third of global GDP – but only around 10% of world stock-market holdings.

"Most investors are relatively under-exposed to emerging market funds," said Ahearne, but as they are generally considered to be at the higher end of the risk spectrum there is understandable caution.

"Most financial advisers will typically recommend around 5 per cent of the average investor's portfolio is held in emerging market funds.

"But in some circumstance the less risk averse investor may want to increase their exposure – especially given some of the returns we are seeing in the sector.

When planning which fund to go into, Ahearne recommends looking at how the fund manager has structured its investment managers.

"Aberdeen for example has always fielded one of the strongest emerging markets teams, and it is the sign of a good fund manager when they have a number of teams split into regional specialists – in this case based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

"Our research suggests that it is currently a two horse race between Aberdeen and First State, but investors should be sure that the fund which they ultimately choose has good exposure to India.

"It is a massive market with around 9,000 quoted companies, making it very appealing for stock pickers. India has a rapidly expanding middle class, a thriving export economy and with English widely spoken is likely to become more attractive than China," added Ahearne.

While some funds are clearly attractive, Ahearne warned that investors had a "high chance" of getting it wrong unless they carefully researched respective fund manager performance.

"Some fund managers actually run funds within the same sector which deliver a superior performance. We cannot stress how important it is to look not just at how the fund is performing against rival managers within the sector, but also with other funds fielded by the investment manager within the same stable.

"It could be the difference between making thousands of pounds – or losing thousands of pounds."

Ends

Moneyspider.com analysed data on 41 Global Emerging Markets funds on 26 June 2012 in conjunction with Financial Express

The value of investments and income from them may go down. You may not get back the original amount investment.

Emerging Markets: Some funds will carry greater risks in return for higher potential rewards. Investment in emerging market funds can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with funds that invest in developed, more established markets. Above average price movements can be expected and the value of these funds may change suddenly.

Further details on the mechanics of Moneyspider.com can be found at www.moneyspider.com.

Size Doesn't Matter..

Whether you have a few hundred pounds in an equity ISA or a £100,000 in a Unit Trust or OEIC, Moneyspider.com gives you the facts to put you in control of your investments.

Regularly keeping up to date with how your funds are performing is critical if you are to maximise the returns you make.

Moneyspider.com allows you to:

• Monitor and rate your funds – Moneyspider.com monitors and rates the performance of your funds and gives you an up-to-date comparison with the top 10 performing funds per IMA sector – daily.

• Check out our top rated funds – When you rate active funds you'll get access to all our Top 10 funds per IMA sector based on our unique ratings as well as our Top funds per Moneyspider Rating ®, 1, 3 and 5 year performance

• Buy or switch a fund – Armed with this comparison information, Moneyspider.com lets you Buy or Switch a fund quicker, cheaper and easier than dealing direct with a fund manager.

The difference between the best and worst performing funds is enormous – it can be worth literally thousands per annum. £10,000 invested five years ago in Moneyspider’s top rated fund is today worth £19,994, yet the same amount invested in the worst rated fund would now be worth a paltry £4,475. Why not register today and see how Moneyspider.com can help you?

Source: Moneyspider.com / FE 24.06.12

Past performance is no guide to the future… but

We all know that past performance is no guarantee of future success. However, it could also be argued that past performance is the only guide to the future!
One of the key ways to choose a fund is to examine its past performance. By analysing how profitable a fund has been, you will get a 'feel' for the fund. Funds have their own individual characteristics. Getting to know these can help you to make decisions that are more intuitive and well-informed.
Many investors believe that certain funds do better or worse than others because they briefly outperform or underperform the averages. However, this is generally believed to be only a temporary phenomenon. Ultimately, funds are thought to revert back to the 'normal' middle ground. If one looks at the performance of funds over time, it is true that most funds do become average performers.
Nevertheless, look for some of the following when choosing a fund:

• The fund has outperformed similar funds in the same sector (e.g. Japan, US Smaller Companies)
• Despite occasional "off-years," the fund has made significant profits over the years.
• The fund consistently has made profits.
• The fund has outperformed some of the principal stock market indices (e.g. FT-SE 100, Dow Jones, S&P 500, etc.)

Some of these criteria may appear to be no more than common sense, but you would be surprised how many investors do not follow them. Often, investors buy a fund based on a "hot tip" from a friend or a "hunch." It is crucial that you know a fund well and can provide reasons for investing in it before you actually do so.
This is where Moneyspider can be so invaluable.
Moneyspider is an online service that not only allows you to monitor and rate your stocks and shares ISAs, Unit Trusts and OEIC investments, on a daily basis, 24/7, it also allows you to compare your funds with every one of the best performing funds in its sector and all other sectors, using our unique rating system.
Armed with this vital information, Moneyspider then provides an execution only buy and switch service, with discounted initial commission charges, making changing your funds a quick and simple process.
Tony Ahearne, Moneyspider.com

Ignorance is not Bliss - Equity Income for 2012

The bank of England recently voted to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5%. It is over three years now since the base rate fell to its record low and there are no signs that interest rates will rise any time soon.

This is a major problem for anyone needing to receive an income from their savings. Cash has lost over 10% in value over the last three years* as a result of inflation.

This combined with austerity measures savaging our personal finances mean it is crucial to ensure we get the most from our investments.

The best equity income funds have succeeded in not only protecting investors’ savings from inflation but creating growth as well.

Income funds are not just a good hedge against inflation. Nor are they just for those investors looking for a source of income. Global brands with strong balance sheets are proving resilient to tough economic times and paying healthy dividends. If these are reinvested rather than taken as income, the size of our returns can grow and grow. 

Moneyspider.com, a unique fund monitoring, rating and comparison service, can show you which funds to consider. If you have an equity ISA, Unit Trust or OEIC, get a rating, an online report available 24/7 and see how they compare against other funds with the same and other sectors.

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to losing money.

Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk